Veterans’ Entitlements Amendment Act 2018
No. 115, 2018
An Act to amend the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986, and for related purposes
Contents
1 Short title
2 Commencement
3 Schedules
Schedule 1—Amendments
Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986
Veterans’ Entitlements Amendment Act 2018
No. 115, 2018
An Act to amend the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986, and for related purposes
[Assented to 25 September 2018]
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
1 Short title
This Act is the Veterans’ Entitlements Amendment Act 2018.
2 Commencement
(1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
Commencement information |
Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
Provisions | Commencement | Date/Details |
1. The whole of this Act | The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent. | 26 September 2018 |
Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.
(2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.
3 Schedules
Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1—Amendments
Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986
1 Subsection 53K(4)
Omit “section 53M”, substitute “sections 53M and 53NAA”.
2 Subsection 53L(6)
Omit “section 53M”, substitute “sections 53M and 53NAA”.
3 At the end of section 53N
Add:
(3) This section has effect subject to section 53NAA.
4 After section 53N
Insert:
53NAA Matters affecting bereavement payments under this Subdivision
If:
(a) bereavement payments mentioned in subsection 53K(3), 53L(4) or 53N(2) are payable to the pensioner in relation to the death of the partner; and
(b) after the partner died, an amount of a pension, or a social security pension, to which the partner would have been entitled if the partner had not died has been paid under this Act or the Social Security Act 1991; and
(c) the Commission is not satisfied that the pensioner has not had the benefit of that amount;
the following provisions have effect:
(d) the amount referred to in paragraph (b) is not recoverable from the pensioner or from the personal representative of the partner, except to the extent (if any) that the amount exceeds the amount of the bereavement payments referred to in paragraph (a);
(e) the amount of the bereavement payments referred to in paragraph (a) is to be reduced by the amount referred to in paragraph (b).
5 Application provision
Section 53NAA of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986, as inserted by this Schedule, applies in relation to the following:
(a) bereavement payments referred to in paragraph 53NAA(a) of that Act that became payable on or after 1 January 1996;
(b) deaths referred to in paragraph 53NAA(a) of that Act that occurred on or after 1 January 1996;
(c) amounts referred to in paragraph 53NAA(b) of that Act that have been paid on or after 1 January 1996.
[Minister’s second reading speech made in—
House of Representatives on 22 August 2018
Senate on 12 September 2018]
Overview
The Veterans’ Entitlements Amendment Act 2018 was enacted by the Parliament of Australia to amend the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986. The Act aims to address issues related to the recovery of certain pension amounts from veterans or their beneficiaries where those amounts are considered to have been offset by bereavement payments. Specifically, the Act was designed to ensure that any pension amount paid to a deceased veteran's partner after their death is not recoverable from the pensioner or the personal representative of the deceased partner if the amount exceeds the bereavement payments already received. This amendment applies to bereavement payments and deaths occurring from 1 January 1996 onwards, and to amounts paid from the same date.
Scope and Application
The Veterans’ Entitlements Amendment Act 2018 amends the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 to modify the rules governing bereavement payments. This legislation applies to veterans and their families, specifically focusing on the circumstances where bereavement payments are affected by other pension or social security payments made after the death of the veteran's partner. The Act ensures that if a pension or social security payment is made to the deceased partner after their death, the amount of bereavement payments is adjusted to account for this. The changes introduced by the Act apply to bereavement payments that became payable, deaths that occurred, and amounts that have been paid on or after 1 January 1996. The Act's provisions are administered at the Commonwealth level and extend to all relevant veterans and their families across Australia. The Act does not specify any exclusions, exemptions, or thresholds, but its application may be further detailed through subordinate instruments.
Key Provisions
The Veterans’ Entitlements Amendment Act 2018 amends the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 primarily by altering the recovery of certain bereavement payments under sections 53K, 53L, and 53N. Specifically, the Act inserts new provisions (section 53NAA) that modify the circumstances under which payments can be recovered from a pensioner or the personal representative of the deceased partner. According to section 53NAA(d), if a pension or social security pension that the deceased partner would have been entitled to has been paid after their death, and the Commission is not satisfied that the pensioner has not benefited from that amount, the pensioner is not required to repay the full amount of the pension or social security pension. Instead, they only need to repay the amount that exceeds the bereavement payments already received (section 53NAA(e)). These changes apply to bereavement payments that became payable, deaths that occurred, and amounts paid on or after 1 January 1996.
The Veterans’ Entitlements Amendment Act 2018 imposes several obligations on the parties involved. Pensioners who receive bereavement payments must ensure that they do not receive any undue benefit from payments that should have been made to their deceased partner. The Commission is tasked with verifying whether the pensioner has received the benefit of any post-death pension or social security payments and ensuring that the bereavement payments are adjusted accordingly. Additionally, the Act requires that the new provisions apply retrospectively to cases where bereavement payments became payable, deaths occurred, or amounts were paid on or after 1 January 1996.
The Act does not explicitly state any criminal or civil penalties for breaches of its provisions. However, any failure to comply with the obligations to adjust bereavement payments as required by section 53NAA could lead to disputes and potential enforcement actions by the Commission. Given the nature of the Act and its focus on ensuring fairness in the distribution of bereavement payments, non-compliance could result in the Commission taking steps to recover any improperly paid amounts. While the Act does not specify maximum penalties, such actions could be pursued through administrative processes or legal avenues, depending on the severity and intent behind any non-compliance.